Real Solutions Bridal bride shares her experience and love story

Real Solutions Bridal bride shares her experience and love story

Real bride, Ashley, shares her love story and her experience with us at Solutions Bridal. Ashley shopped with bridal stylist, Roberta, and said “yes” to a mermaid silk organza wedding gown by Rivini. Ashley and Jonny shared their special day in Destin, Florida. Surrounded by friends and family, the couple exchanged vows and created new memories.

How did you and your fiance meet?

My husband and I originally met during college. At the time, I was a premedical student at the University of Georgia and he was attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado. On September 17, 2007, while attending a Braves game in Atlanta, Georgia with my sorority, I met him (Jonny) after he, along with the rest of the Air Force Academy’s skydiving team provided our pregame entertainment by jumping into the middle of the baseball field.

After their halftime jump, Jonny along with a group of his friends happened along my sorority as they were walking around the stadium. One thing led to another and soon Jonny and I were lost in conversation for the rest of the night.

We subsequently kept in touch and began dating a few years later. However, after about 3 years of actual dating, our long distance relationship began to struggle. I completed medical school and began my residency in pediatric medicine all while he was in Afghanistan and upon his final return to the country, he decided we needed some time apart.

For another 3 years, we lived separate lives, each of us finally dating again, but never meeting “the one”. In March of 2016, I broke up with the (other) boyfriend that I was dating at the time and about 2 weeks later I got a phone call from Jonny. Little did I know that our mothers had kept in touch ever since we had broken up, and Jonny had just learned of my newfound state of singleness. After a few phone conversations we decided to see each other in person again and he flew down to Hilton Head, South Carolina where I was working at the time. I’ll never forget the moment I first glimpsed him as I was picking him up at the airport after a long 3 years apart. With that glimpse, I fell back in love with him all over again and I knew that no matter what sacrifices I had to make I couldn’t lose him a second time. He has and always will be the love of my life and I will forever be grateful that we were given a second chance!

How did he propose to you?

Well, I actually ruined his proposal! One evening after he got home from work (while I was visiting him in Minnesota – I was living and working in Orlando at the time), I was feeling a little homesick and asked him to take me out to dinner in a halfhearted effort to cheer myself up. He basically said he had plans of his own for the night, which of course upset me even more, to the point that I started crying.

After 5-10 minutes of crying and generally feeling sorry for myself, Jonny walked into the living room where I was and said, “Ashley, you’ve absolutely ruined my plans, but I can’t continue to watch you cry so I’m doing this now…”, at which point he pulled the ring out of his pocket, got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. Of course, I said yes and that night ended up being an amazing kickoff to our 3-month engagement.

Later that night Jonny proceeded to tell me all about the elaborate plans he had made in order to propose to me the very next night – including a dress for me to wear, a makeup appointment for me to get dolled up beforehand and fancy dinner reservations.

Although I was sad that those events never actually got to play out, in the end, I couldn’t have been happier.

A picture of Jonny and I the night we got engaged:

How would describe your first experience at Solutions Bridal during your appointment?

From the moment my sister and I (who was also my maid of honor) walked into Solutions Bridal, I felt confident that this was the place where I would find “the dress”.

Due to the fact that we only had a 3-month engagement, time was certainly the rate-limiting factor in me finding a dress for the wedding. After having visited other bridal boutiques where I was essentially told I would not be able to find a dress in time for my New Years Eve wedding, I came into Solutions Bridal apprehensive of being told the same thing. However, to my surprise, everyone in the store was totally on board and reassured me that I could and WOULD find the perfect dress and that they would help me throughout the entire process!

Pictures of my sister (who was also my wedding planner/maid of honor) after making the final dress decision.

How did you know when you found your dream dress?

It was funny because the dress that I finally chose was one that my sister had picked out and asked me to just “try on for fun”. It was sizes too big but Roberta helped to clip the back and gave me shoes and jewelry so that I would get the full effect when I looked in the mirror for the very first time. When I did, I instantly, knew that it was the dress I wanted to marry the love of my life in!

I guess Roberta saw the look on my face and knew exactly what I was thinking because later when I expressed concern that some of my family members might not like the dress, she bolstered by confidence by winking and saying that she knew it was the dress for me. Her confidence definitely gave me the reassure I needed at that moment.

Pictures of the dress before it was altered.Pictures of the dress before it was altered.

How was your experience with Solutions Bridal after your bridal appointment?

Everyone who I interacted with from Solutions Bridal was absolutely amazing and went out of their way to make sure I looked my absolute best on my big day. In fact, a few days before my wedding the belt of my wedding dress was stolen out of my car along with some other personal items. I was absolutely distraught but contacted Solutions Bridal and they went out of their way to reorder my same belt and even had it mailed directly to the wedding destination site. I ended up receiving it just in time for the wedding. I am so grateful to all of the ladies at Solutions for going to such great lengths to ensure that everything was perfect on my big day. Looking back I can’t imagine getting married in any other dress!